Congratulations to the Wayfarers who rode the Prudential Ride London (PRL) on Sunday - and thanks to those who came out to cheer us on our way. (I don't know how long you had stood on corner of Wimbledon Hill, Geoff, but it was nice to recognise a familiar face, and a smile of encouragement before facing the last climb of the day!).
After weeks of glorious sunshine, and now in weather conditions reminiscent of the deluge of 2014, Wayfarers made their way out of the Olympic Park, and on towards a very wet Surrey. Early starters Dave, Janice and Mike probably had the least trouble navigating the course and made very good progress. Later starters had to contend with a number of blockages caused by incidents, sometimes waiting for paramedics to attend casualties. As a consequence the route was altered in a number of locations, including at Abinger Hammer, and at Pasture Wood Road, (after Holmbury Saint Mary), cutting-out Leith Hill, and for later riders at Burford Bridge, cutting-out Box Hill. It will be interesting to hear about Wayfarers differing experiences of alternative routes!
Thankfully, looking at the PRL web Rider Favourites, all made it to the finish line safely. To those who raised money for various charities, well done.
For those interested in times and splits, here's a breakdown. Apologies if I've missed anybody.
https://results.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/2018/?pid=favorites
2 comments:
Congrats to all - one of the world's great rides. Well done
Having completed all 6 RideLondon events I have to say this was by far the hardest! The rain was so heavy it made it almost impossible to see and the headwind on the way out made it a relief to start climbing the Surrey hills. I was glad my luggage had been left in London otherwise I would have found it very tempting to exit in the many places I was only a few miles away from home.
However, I actually enjoyed the hills, being so familiar with them made it easier and by that point I’d long decided I wasn’t pushing myself for a fast time so I could sit back and relax a bit. My disk brakes worked perfectly on the descents and I was very glad of them.
I was fortunate to have no punctures as very many people did. However, I did see two vans going round stopping to help as did some of the Ride Captains.
I also had the full course open to me but nevertheless rode slightly short of 100 miles.
Unsurprisingly there were far fewer supporters out but those who were, including many of the marshalls, helped. As did the Ride Captain who rode with a speaker and playlist of motivational music. It was great to hear Geoff call out my name which spurred me on towards Wimbledon hill.
Would I do it again? Not if you’d asked me on Sunday, but the ballot opens next Monday so who knows. Maybe.
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